authenticity

Do Others See Your Authenticity at Work?

A leader who doesn’t feel ready for leadership responsibilities will struggle to trust their abilities. They will compare themselves to everyone else, live with doubt and insecurity. They want to show up authentically, but because of their own doubts it isn’t easy for them. Brene Brown said that “authenticity is a practice and you choose it every day.” I like to believe that all leaders are doing the best that they can to show up authentically. They may not even realize that…
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Are You Willing to Admit Your Mistakes?

It isn’t easy to admit when you make a mistake or fail at something. For some reason we don’t want to be told we are wrong, so we don’t talk about it. Why is that? People have been making mistakes for hundreds of years, but for some reason it seems easier not to admit it. We don’t want to look bad to someone else or be shamed for not getting it right the first time. Some of the greatest inventions exist…
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Monday Morning Leadership Q&A – 11/6/17

Client Question: “I would like to be perceived differently than I am today. I want my management to see that I am ready for the next level. How do I do that?” The best place to start is to understand fully how you are being perceived today. Have you been given feedback that you need to do some things differently? Did the feedback come from just one person or is it coming from multiple sources? Do you see any consistent themes? …
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Are You The Leader That You Want To Be?

One of the things that is a challenge as a leader is to be authentic to who you are. Without realizing it, you may become what others want you to be. It isn’t something that you may even recognize right away. You begin conforming into what is expected based on feedback from your management or peers. If you are moving towards the person that you want to be then that is okay. But if it is conflicting with your values…
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Do You See Yourself as a Humble Leader?

When you are trying to share a lesson with your team, do you share how you learned that lesson yourself? In the article “4 Lessons You Learn About Humility While Ambitiously Chasing Success by Silvia Turnova, she talks about sharing more of yourself when you are trying to reach your goals. She lists four lessons to consider: Being Humble – always remember where you came from and that others helped you get to where you are. What are you doing…
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Who Do You Want To Be Today?

One of my favorite thought leaders on leadership is Lilly Daskal. She posted a blog recently that was focused on the fact that “you are the leadership message.” Here are 3 of the 9 different messages highlighted in the article that stand out for me: You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself It’s not just what happens to you that determines how far you will go; it is also how you handle what happens…
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What Does A Confident Leader Look Like?

My first role with direct reports was a new role that didn’t exist before. I had three direct reports and oversight of the daily activities of 22 indirect reports. It was a little overwhelming at the time. The great thing was I got to make up what the role would do, how it would work and define it all as I went along. For a first time leader of people, it was a little scary. There was no one else…
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Don’t turn me in. I am an Impostor!

I heard an interesting podcast today on the subject of being an impostor. This is something that many people feel throughout their career. Here are some of the questions that go through an impostor’s mind: “What if people find out I don’t know everything that I should? What if they realize I am not ready for this role and they shouldn’t have given me the job?” Does this sound like you? Surprisingly this happens to many high potential people, especially…
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Building Authentic Connections One Day At A Time

For simplification reasons, I recently moved some of my accounts to a different bank that is near where I live. I noticed immediately that when I walked into the bank I was greeted by a person seated near the entrance. They asked me how I was doing, what my name was, how could they help me and offered me a coffee or a water. Was I really at a bank? Then they walked me to the office of the person…
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How powerful is a story for a leader?

Today is November 11th, which is a day known by different names ( Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, Poppy Day, Armistice Day, etc.) depending on where you are from as a day to remember all those in the armed forces who fought for our freedom. Thank you all for your service. Picture yourself getting together with a bunch of friends or family. At some point, you will probably hear a story or two about a recent event that happened to…
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Mastering the Art of Personal Branding: Building an Authentic Image

Many of your peers have great experiences, skills and knowledge that might be similar to yours, so what makes you different? How do you add value? What makes you unique? Everyone has to figure out this answer for themselves. Being able to articulate your brand through conversations and actions can make a big difference with people who can have an influence on your career. What is your personal brand? I love to ask clients to describe their personal brand at…
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Managerial Alignment Makes All The Difference For Your Success

I have had several conversations this week on the importance of aligning with managers and stakeholders. It seems like common sense, but in the day to day of getting stuff done, it is something that may be forgotten. When I ask them about it, they usually think that their manager “probably” knows what they are doing, but they aren’t sure. It is important to always consider whether you have done it or need to do it. This is a type…
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Making a Big Impact on Your Team

Have you stopped to consider what type of impact you are making as a leader? There may be big things that you have done to support a team member or on a project, but most of the time it is how you show up in the little moments that count. These are the moments that team members remember forever. Here are some ways that leaders show up that make a difference: There are hundreds of examples that I could have…
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